the town of grimwood is one haunted by mythos. witches, vampires, werewolves, demons and other mythical creatures lurk in the forests that surround the town. hence the popularity of the grimwood mythos defense academy, owned and ran by the famous vanhelsing family. however, little do they know that a student, an undercover vampire, is planning to kill gabriel vanhelsing himself, and using his daughter to get close enough to do so.
Beatrice Vanhelsing a very determined 20 year old girl, she wants to become the best mythos hunter there is, living up to her family name. She resents the idea that the only reason she's at MDA is because her parents own the school (and basically all of Grimwood at this point tbh) and feels like she needs to prove herself as someone who has actual skill and isn't just living as a nepo baby. Beatrice is stubborn and serious, always doing school work, which means she doesn't have very many friends. That's okay though. Who needs friends when you can be studying up on everyway to kill a vampire. Some things are more important than friends.
Hadrian Lovewell (belongs to my friend Toasty) is a vampire set on killing the head of the Vanhelsing family, who have been tormenting not only himself but all vampires and mythos for years. He is undercover at MDA, trying to get close enough to Beatrice Vanhelsing in order to be able to kill her father. He has a strong hatred for anything he percieves as "too modern" and appears to be someone who is very pessimestic yet charismatic. Deep down he is much more empathetic and caring than he seems, a trait that might get in the way of his mission...
Conan Miray (belongs to my friend Breaddino) is a werewolf and Beatrice's ex-boyfriend!!! Yay!! He's a goofy, dorky and lovable athlete who is the most hopeless romantic theres ever been. The poor boy was so in love with Beatrice, convincing himself that despite secretly being a werewolf, he would marry her after highschool and they would live happily ever after... until she dumped him to... "focus on school"????? Never fear though, because he has changed his five year plan and is now attending MDA, determined to prove that he can be the kind of guy Beatrice wants, and hopefully win her back!! I am confident that no incredibly handsome vampires will get in the way of this plan.
This was written by my friend Toasty, our world building queen because I can't care about the rules of a universe for the life of me!!!
Grimwood is a small, sleepy town located in Maine, USA. Founded near the Appalachians and Baxter State Park, Grimwood has a long, rich history of what the public call The Mythos, or more singularly: Mythie. Grimwood itself was a part of the original colonization of America, during which many of The Mythos in the Appalachians were first discovered. Many of the techniques to defend people against The Mythos of America originated in Grimwood itself, making it a hub for much of the knowledge, superstition, and tradition surrounding the laws and current standing of creatures categorized under The Mythos. The superstition and tradition in question, of course, is what many of the long-standing residents of Grimwood practice and believe without question. It’s what’s kept them alive, after all.
Residents of Grimwood are anything but welcoming, despite more modernized efforts to integrate some members of The Mythos into society, Grimwood remains cynical to the core. This is mostly due to the culture surrounding the perception of The Mythos, with a lot of focus of the townspeople still being on the containment and extermination of Mythie that are considered dangerous to society. For Grimwood, this most heavily focuses on vampires, who populated the land after coming over from Europe, and Mythos native to the Appalachians in America. Children often grow up on Mythos manuals, with tales, tips, and tricks of what to do and not to do to stay safe or end the lives of Mythos they come across, and it’s a practice that only continues the cycle. Some Mythos are, of course, more completely dangerous and unreasonable, though others are more humanistic, and it’s those whom are much more controversial for the wider, modernizing world.
The Mythos Defense Academy is the most prestigious school in the country for all things related to hunting and defending the public from Mythos. Owned by the world-renowned and famous Mythos-killing Vanhelsing family, The Mythos Defense Academy is a higher-education school that prepares hunters for the real world, and to keep both tradition alive and the public safe from Mythos-related threats.
For more information about the various mythos, see the Vanhelsing Guide to Mythos Identification and Defense (Copyright 1732, Updated 1995)
